The numbers are shocking: one in three women will die of heart disease. Knowing our risk factors is the first step, but there's another way to assess heart health. It's a painless test done in just 15 minutes. In February's Health Check -- see what a "heart scan" can tell you.

Jean Felton decided to look into the future, with a heart scan.

"I've had minor chests pains in the past," she says.

Combine that with the fact her father died after having his third heart attack and it's easy to understand why she considered this a no-brainer.

After getting hooked up to monitors, the test begins. C-T scans are taken so quickly, the heartbeat can be stopped mid-beat and converted to images. Dr. Tom Forrest waits for a computer to count calcium specks and give patient's a score.

He says, "If this patient has coronary artery disease we'd see lots of white specks. That's a marker or a sign of hardening in the arteries. A little bit is okay, more isn't so good, and a lot is bad."

Anything over 400 is considered a high calcium load. Jean had the lowest possible score of zero.

Dr. Forrest says, "A score of zero, what does that mean to a patient? The chances of a heart attack within the next couple of years is very, very minimal."

Dr. Forrest shared the information with Jean's cardiologist, Dr. John Henry, who passed on the results to his patient but reminded Jean that this is only a snapshot of heart health.

He says, "It's still important to watch your risk factors."

He wants Felton to increase her exercise, and continue to watch her diet and cholesterol.

Jean says, "It was so easy. It took maybe 10, 15 minutes but for the 15 minutes I was in there and the peace of mind it did give me, it was definitely worth it."

Doctors recommend heart scans for men, 45 and older and for women, 55 and older. They're also recommended for anyone over 35 with at least one of these risk factors: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, a family history of heart disease or tobacco use.

The heart scan costs $200 and is an out-of-pocket expense for patients.

Get The Latest Health Care News from Alegent Health

You choose the topics, such as "Women's Health" then, each month, Alegent Health will send you a free health e-newsletter. Your newsletter articles are: personalized to your interests; medically reviewed; selected from hundreds of publications; always current. Click here.

Bergan Mercy Medical Center	Immanuel Medical Center
Lakeside Hospital	Midlands Hospital
Mercy Hospital	Alegent Health Clinic